Elite German force chief may visit to discuss NSG training

New Delhi, Jan 22 (IANS) Chief of the German counter-terrorism force GSG-9 Olaf Lindner is likely to visit India next week to discuss counter-terrorism training for the National Security Guard (NSG) that is modelled on it. Lindner’s visit follows an agreement between the two countries in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attack that the GSG-9 would help train and upgrade the NSG, which was set up over two decades ago and is now being expanded to have six regional hubs.

The NSG was raised on the lines of Germany’s GSG-9 in 1986 as India’s elite anti-hijacking, anti-terror and bomb disposal force. Today, it is better known as a force that provides security cover to VVIPs.

“During the visit, Lindner would be talking about the Mumbai incidents and what could be the inputs given to the commandos (NSG) as far as the best practice goes,” said Ziercke, who has been visiting India to extend cooperation in counter-terrorism operations post Mumbai.

GSG-9 der Bundespolizei (originally the German abbreviation of Grenzschutzgruppe 9 or Border Guard Group 9) is the elite counter-terrorism and special operations force of the German federal police, set up after the 1972 Munich Olympic terror incidents where the German police were found inadequate in countering the terrorists.

GSG-9 is famous for its seven-minute quick operation in October 1977 to free a hijacked Lufthansa flight that was being held hostage in Mogadishu.

From 1972 to 2003, the group reportedly completed over 1,500 missions, discharging their weapons on only five occasions. At the SWAT World Challenge in 2005, GSG-9 won an impressive seven out of seven events, beating 17 other teams.